The “Robin M. Lee” is the most recent vessel to join the Atlantic operations of Pescanova SA at the start of this century, serving in the southwest Atlantic. The multinational from Chapela already operated in the Falkland Islands with the ships “Sil” and the elongated “New Polar,” and managed Antarctic waters with the fishing vessels “Betanzos” and “Antarctic Bay.”
After a forced restructuring following a large creditor contest, Nueva Pescanova divested the first fleet of three ships that had been named Lafonia, according to early reports. That flotilla moved to the Cangas-based shipowner Moradiña. The “Betanzos,” later repurposed as a research vessel under a Chilean flag, and the “Antarctic Bay” also changed ownership.
Moradiña stands as a premier firm linked to the now third-largest fishing group in Spain, Worldwide Fishing Company (Wofco). Wofco already has a presence in key fishing grounds with vessels like the “Playa de Sartaxéns,” the extended “Eirado do Costal,” and “Playa Menduiña Dos.” The latter, steered by Ramón Porto, became a symbol of hope for the crew of the “Villa de Pitanxo,” which sank off Newfoundland on February 15, 2022. In a twist of fate, the same fishing group now appears again, extending a similar hope to the crew and families of the “Argos Georgia,” which encountered trouble about 200 miles east of the Falklands last night.
The “Playa Menduiña Dos” saved three of the 24 crew members from the “Pitanxo.” The rescue operation was arduous and deeply painful: the crew recovered bodies from liferafts, some in pieces, and laid them out with their own blankets for transport to St. John’s, Canada, for repatriation. The sailors aboard the “Playa” were honored by the Municipality of Marín last summer, and the testimonies of the rescued have fed into investigations concerning the sinking of the Pesquerías Nores vessel. The owning armadora and two executives, along with Captain Juan Enrique Padín Costas, face charges in that case.
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It is common for fishing vessels to participate in rescue missions. The Portuguese ship França Morte and the Galician Río Caxil assisted in the Pitanxo incident. In the case of the Argos Georgia, the dragger Puerto Toro joined the search, expanding the crew list that already included Pesca Chile, a subsidiary held by Abanca. The Chilean arm of the operation had faced bankruptcy in 2013 and was not retained within the consolidating perimeter.